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A bounty hunter’s partners to lovers’ story.The hunt is on… and he’s the prey.Bradford (Ford) King was sure he had the rest of his life mapped out. Though he was no longer a SEAL Lieutenant, his brother was home safe and he had a job that still allowed him to satisfy his hunger for hunting bad guys. Life was simple, no distractions or complications – at age forty-six – that’s all Ford wanted. What he didn’t want was his work partner, sniper/watchman, Dana, giving him s**t all the time. Dana Cadby had grown up labeled a roughneck from the wrong side of the tracks. He’d fought, scrounged, and survived despite a father that constantly told him he couldn’t. Dana pulled himself up by his own boot straps and made a name for himself in the marksman community. He’d been Duke’s bounty watchman for five years. It was his job to ensure their safety, watch their backs. At thirty-three, he was trusted, well respected by his peers, his bosses, his friends… so why couldn’t he earn the same respect from his partner? Dana knew he was bisexual before he graduated high school. He also knew he was attracted to the huge, 6’3”, SEAL from the moment he and his brother came to join their team. It wasn’t easy for him to tamp down his immediate reaction to Ford’s thick muscles, full beard, and dark eyes. Still, Dana exhibited nothing but professionalism towards him, not wanting to make his ‘straight’ partner uncomfortable. After Dana took back his ex-girlfriend, he’d noticed an intensification in Ford’s bad attitude. One that turned aggressive and downright antagonistic, and Dana was damned if he’d just lay down and take it. He was gonna make that man respect him if it was the last thing he did. When Duke sends Dana and Ford out to track down their most dangerous bounty yet, they both embrace the fact that they make one hell of a team… but they fight tooth and nail against the powerful intimacy brewing between them. Beware: When Ford and Dana connect, no fugitive can hide from the hunter and his watchman.This story is a part of a series but can stand alone. It does not end on a cliffhanger and has a HEA.Disclaimer: This book is about MM romance, albeit there is a very brief MF scene.

Ford stepped out of the shower, drying off with a scratchy towel that was too small to fit around his waist. He looked around at the untouched space on his way to his one dresser. His home was bare and desolate. He didn’t have a partner to make his room nice for and he was fine with that. He had plenty to deal with without that kind of distraction. His brother barking at him every five minutes was enough. Relationships required a type of work and dedication that Ford couldn’t fulfill at this stage in his life.

He’d had some damn good times, tapping asses with his team back in his enlisted days, but those years were gone. Ford dropped down on the edge of his full-sized bed and reclined back on the firm mattress. He didn’t think about his days as a Special Warfare Scout anymore. Couldn’t reflect long on the experiences and battles if he wanted to protect his sanity. He still missed it. Bounty hunting was as close as he’d get to quenching the thirst of his need to hunt.

It was too quiet. He turned on the television to stop the random thoughts playing out in his head, the station already tuned into the game he’d been watching at Bennigan’s. He smirked when he remembered how Dana tried to steal glances at the ball game while eating with his girl. Ford watched her bite his head off the moment she caught him. Idiot. He was probably back at his place right now receiving his compensation for playing the ever-attentive boyfriend.

Ford abandoned the thought of Dana fucking his woman. He didn’t need the visual. He pulled on a pair of boxers and got in bed, tucking his .45 under the extra pillow beside him. Looking at his high-tech watch – which was synced and exactly like those worn by his entire team – on the side of the bed, he noticed it was almost eleven. Early for most people, but Ford figured he might as well go ahead and try to get some sleep. They had training early tomorrow. Duke and Quick made sure they stayed conditioned for suspect takedowns and didn’t allow their submission techniques to get rusty. Ford liked Quick as an instructor, and the martial arts expert he hired was knowledgeable in his field. Ford knew plenty about subduing suspects but he was never cocky in thinking he knew it all. He prided himself on always being prepared, and that required regular training. He hoped he was partnered with Duke tomorrow, because after slapping Dana on his back when he walked by him in the restaurant, the man was undoubtedly eager to get a retaliatory cheap hit in on him when they sparred. Sure, the slap was probably uncalled for, but Dana needed some sense knocked into him. Ford felt the need to be the one to do it.

AUTHOR BIO:

A.E. Via is an author in the beautiful gay romance genre and also founder and owner of Via Star Wings Books. Her writing embodies everything from hopelessly romantic to adventure, to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.

When she’s not clicking away at her laptop, she devotes herself to her family—a husband and four children.

Adrienne has tons of more stories to tell, so be sure to visit her site to learn more! Go to A.E. Via’s official website http://authoraevia.com for more detailed information on how to contact her, follow her, or a sneak peak on upcoming work, free reads, VSWB submissions, and where she’ll appear next.

Ford and Dana have been working together for the past few years but the two men can't seem to get along. It starts to become obvious that what animosity they have towards one another may have a lot to do with the underlying attraction they feel for one another. However, admitting how they feel isn't easy and they can't seem to get out of their own way.

What I Loved: Believe it or not I think what I loved the most about his series was the relationships between Ford and Brian as brothers, Brian and Dana as friends and then Ford and Dana as partners and potential lovers if they could stop hating each other long enough to realize they want each other.

Brian was probably my favorite character truthfully and I loved that while you'd think he should be the dark and broody one, he's actually the funny and easygoing brother. He had some of the best parts of the books because his interactions with people are great. I'm pretty excited to read his book, to be honest.

What I Liked: One of the things I love about AE Via's stories is the action and the story outside of the romantic plot line. I love the cases the men work on, the interactions on the job and with the villains/bad guys. Sometimes they are a bit over the top but generally, they are fun and exciting. I really liked seeing Ford, Dana and Brian working but I wanted a little more here. I would have been on cloud nine reading about more of the jumps they had to go after and the things they went through to bring in the bad guys/women. I think that's what I adore so much with the Nothing Special series and I kind of missed with this series.

What I Didn't Like: I think I had a completely different picture of Ford in my head because for some reason his personality came as a bit of a surprise to me. I'm not sure why I thought he'd be more fun than he was but I kind of thought he and his brother Brian would be funny and full of entertaining banter. I think I pictured something similar to Raux and Green from Here Come's Trouble. However, Ford was more on the dark and broody side of things. I guess it was fitting since he's a 46-year-old ex-Navy Seal.

Dana is sweet most of the time and we get glimpses of a tough Alpha male, however, more than once I found myself questioning his age. At 34, I would assume he'd be more mature than he was at times. There were quite a few scenes I found myself thinking "grow a pair" or "grow up!"

The way he let his girlfriend treat him was ridiculous and extremely annoying.

Jess is such a PITA why he would even be with her makes no sense whatsoever. I didn't see a single interaction between the two where he was getting anything positive out of the relationship. It wasn't even as if he was staying with her for the out of this world sex.

Overall, I enjoyed Promises 3 but I feel like something was missing. Maybe it was me but I wanted more action. Having said that I love AE Via and the writing was well done, flowed well and kept me entertained.